no, you are not athena
by Kisara White
Summary: great women are not born great. they are made.
DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING!

* * *

 _no,  
you are not athena._

* * *

Sakura punched the training post, wincing in pain.

"No, no Sakura. That's the wrong stance, " Iruka chided slightly. "Watch how Hinata does it."

"Yes Iruka-sensei, " came the quiet reply as emerald eyes watched Hinata's stance diligently, eyes envious at her perfection, at her ease.

* * *

 _you were not born  
gracefully  
from the head of  
your shared father._

* * *

"When you were born… there were so many complications, " Sakura's mother said, her eyes growing distant. "Your chakra levels were low, your body so small… Kami, you were so small. Your father, when he saw you, he said to give up on you and just have another child. He didn't think you would survive the year."

* * *

 _you came out  
bloody  
from between the legs  
of your outcast mother,_

* * *

"I swear your mom couldn't keep her legs shut could she? Had to marry that ninja washout. I swear, you'll turn into a disappointment just like your parents were and still are, " her grandmother snarled, shaking her head as she walked away. She had repeated these words on her birthday every year as her parents disappeared on a mission. Sakura looked at her hands and wondered if a disappointment lay in those small pale fingers.

* * *

 _from that moment  
burdened  
with the responsibility  
to bring forth your  
brother._

* * *

"Protect Naruto and Sasuke for me will you? You're the girl of the group after all, " Kakashi said, smiling underneath his mask. Sakura nodded, her smile never faltering as her heart did.

* * *

 _you do not belong in  
olympus,_

* * *

Sakura could see Hokage Tower, casting a shadow over her as she passed the building. She knew this was where Naruto would belong. She knew this was where Sasuke would stay. She kept walking.

* * *

 _like their darling on her  
silver throne._

* * *

Hinata smiled as flowers rained down on her and Naruto, both happy as they walked down the aisle together, hand in hand. Hinata's wedding kimono drifted in the wind as she waved towards the adoring crowd who loved the woman who married their Hokage. _  
_

* * *

 _apollo is their golden boy,  
in his golden chariot._

* * *

Naruto raced across the plains, racing to get to the battlefront. Millions of shinobi raced behind him, their hearts beating along with his and stopping along with his.

* * *

 _you belong to the  
forests, to the wild_

* * *

Sakura sliced her hair, strands falling to the forest floor as she stood, her back straight and her eyes forward, never looking back to the chains that held her.

* * *

 _to beasts you will never  
tame._

* * *

Her soul and mind roared together, her eyes blazing with green fire and her pink hair turning red with blood and rage. She flew as she shattered Sasori's chest, flinging him across the cave floor and cracking him against the cold stone ground.

* * *

 _you are not athena._

* * *

"I am not you Ino, " Sakura said, tightening her Konoha band across her head. "I won't be in your shadow anymore!"  
you never will be.

* * *

 _you had to claw  
your way up to olympus._

* * *

Sakura slammed open the doors to the Hokage office, eyes blazing with desperation and strength. "Please let me be your apprentice!"

Tsunade hid her smile behind her interlocking fingers, honey eyes staring deep into beryl that glowed like dragon fire. "Very well."

Sakura smiled, tinged with vehemence. "Thank you Lady Tsunade."

"Call me Tsunade-sensei."

* * *

 _you are artemis,  
wild girl with the  
wild hair, and the blood of  
your prey on the soles  
of your bare feet._

* * *

Sakura walked across the battlefield, her blood-dyed hair fluttering in the wind, a mockery of the cherry blossoms that raced against the breeze in Konoha. Bodies with their chests caved in, bodies that just looked like their strings were cut. Her feet dragged against the ground lazily and as she came upon a trembling leader, she claimed victory.

* * *

 _no.  
you are not athena.  
but you make every  
head in olympus  
turn your  
way._

* * *

Sakura walked through the streets, her head high as her heels clicked across the cement. Eyes watched her as breathy whispers spread. "Haruno Sakura, Surpasser of the Slug Sannin, Breaker of Skies, not a Queen as Tsunade was, but an _Empress_."


End file.
